37 8 PERCHING BIRDS. 



imitative talent, becoming excessively tame and confiding, and having been known 

 to reproduce the song of the canary. Yarrell states that the greenfinch is a late 

 breeder, but while fresh eggs may sometimes be found in a nest as late as the month 

 of September, we once saw a newly-fledged greenfinch taking short flights from 

 bough to bough as early as the 19th May. The greenfinch builds a coarse, untidy 

 nest of fibrous roots, moss, and wool, lined with finer roots, horse-hair, and a few 

 feathers. A remarkable combination of two nests of the greenfinch built on a single 

 platform, and placed in a large ornamental heath, is recorded by Gurney. The 

 greenfinch is fond of building in the neighbourhood of water, hence the young birds 

 occasionally tumble out of the nest and are drowned. The eggs are white, spotted 

 with reddish brown and grey. The greenfinch not unfrequently pairs with the canary 

 in confinement ; and in a wild state occasionally mates with the goldfinch. The 

 hybrids resulting from the latter cross most resemble the greenfinch in shape and 

 colour, but the head and wings never fail to show the goldfinch blood. The green- 

 finch also interbreeds with the linnet, and in confinement has produced offspring 

 by pairing with the bullfinch and twite. During the autumn greenfinches range 

 the fields in large flocks, feeding on the seeds of wild mustard and many other pests 

 of the husbandman. The male greenfinch is olive-yellow above, overshaded with 

 ashy grey; the under surface of the body being yellow. The South European form 

 is smaller and brighter than the birds which breed in the British Isles and Northern 

 Europe. Yellow, black, white, and cinnamon varieties of the greenfinch have come 

 under our notice. 



The hawfinches are readily distinguished by their large and 

 Hawfinches. . j *r> j & 



clumsy bills, which are adapted to enable them to feed upon hard 



kernels. Hawfinches are found in suitable localities throughout Europe and Siberia. 

 The Japanese form is paler and lighter in colour than the European (Coccothraustes 

 vulgaris) ; while Hume's hawfinch (C. humei) is an Indian species, differing from 

 the European birds in having a lighter and less richly-coloured head, and by the 

 sides of the body being pale tawny or orange-brown instead of vinaceous. The 

 hawfinch is a well-known bird in many parts of Europe, and is locally distributed 

 over England, although rarely visiting Scotland, and uncommon in Ireland. 

 It frequents the skirts of forests, especially where hornbeam flourishes, since it 

 feeds on the seeds of that tree. Seldom seen in open country, it resides in 

 gardens and orchards, especially during the summer months ; its flight being- 

 rapid and undulating. The male should be seen in bright sunshine, if his beauty 

 of plumage is to be appreciated ; the light being admirably adapted to burnish 

 up his deep brown back and blue-black wings. The hawfinch is a shy bird, and 

 seldom courts attention ; when alarmed, its first action is to crouch close to the 

 branch upon which it happens to be perching, so as, if possible, to escape un- 

 noticed. Mr. Seebohm remarks that " the hawfinch is not much of a songster. 

 It has few notes, which can scarcely be called more than a low chatter. There is 

 nothing very striking in its performance ; but when several are twittering away 

 together the general effect is very pleasant. Its call-note is said to resemble the 

 well-known zh of the greenfinch. The hawfinch pairs about the middle of April, 

 and its nest is rarely built before the trees are in full foliage. The site of the nest 

 differs considerably. A favourite place is in the apple or pear-trees in an orchard, 



